SSS-Class Revival Hunter - Chapter 56

WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR

◈ SSS-Class Revival Hunter ◈

Chapter 56: Bibliomania (1)

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Silence filled the great library.

Hunters with weak stomachs were retching. Those with stronger constitutions stared at the quest that appeared before them, lost in thought.

Only one Constellation.

"Ah."

The librarian, the only one with 5-meter-long sleeves fluttering, spoke up.

"Please clean up after yourselves if you're sick. Isn't that basic manners? The cleanliness of the library is maintained only through everyone's efforts."

Clap!

The Librarian lightly clapped their hands. From the shadowed corners behind the shelves, unidentified things approached. Since they had arms and legs, they might have looked human at first glance....

The Witch narrowed her eyes.

"...Bookmarks?"

The mysterious beings had bodies made of bookmarks.

Odd drawings adorned the middle of the bookmarks. Maid outfits? Servant dresses? Anyway, they bore images of attire that old-timey maids would wear.

"Ah. Right on the mark. These are Bookmark Maids!"

The librarian cleared their throat and placed their hand on their waist.

"They will serve you until you clear the 30th floor."

The maids depicted on the bookmarks bowed their bodies.

"If you need to eat or use the restroom, just speak to the Bookmark Maids. They might not look it, but they are quite capable."

"Monsters... right? Basically?"

The librarian covered their mouth with their sleeve.

The Constellation's eyes curved in a sly smile.

"You may think of them that way."

The Librarian's eyes were smiling, but the voice was not. The hunters flinched. It was the first time the perpetually cheerful Constellation's voice had turned cold.

"While you stay here, there are a few things to keep in mind," the librarian continued.

"First, never touch a book I haven't permitted. Don't even lay a hand on them. These are all books I've painstakingly collected. Unique apocalypses in this universe. Anyone who dares to touch a book without the owner's permission..."

"Fuck."

Suddenly, a hunter cursed.

"What a fucking joke. You are the boss monster in the end!"

"...Hmm."

"Hey! Grab your weapons! To hell with the quest. If we just kill that bastard, we clear everything through the 30th floor. What do you mean, calling yourself 'this exalted one'? If all three hundred of us attack at once, we can beat the shit out of you!"

The crowd began to murmur.

The librarian didn't stop the instigator, just quietly watched with a smile. Seeing the constellation's silence, the hunter became even more emboldened.

"We can beat a little kid like that! Even some green rookie called the King of Death cleared the 20th floor by himself."

"........"

They're dragging me into this.

"We can do it too! Right!?"

As the instigator pointed at me, several people turned in our direction. The hunters were of various ethnicities, with eyes of all colors. But the emotions in their eyes were all the same.

Envy, jealousy, greed.

All too familiar emotions.

"Stay out of this! You, the Five Great Guilds, back off!"

The hunter shouted not only at me but also at the Witch, the Sword Saint, and even the Heretic Inquisitor and the Countess, leaders of the large guilds.

"I already hated how you monopolized the clears from the 11th floor onward. You act as if only you represent the tower. Then you drag in some random kid and manufacture him into a so-called new hero. Did you think we would not notice your schemes?"

The Witch bristled.

"Who are you talking to...!"

Squeeze.

I grabbed her wrist.

"Hold back."

"No, King of Death. If we let them..."

"Just bear with it for now."

I whispered to the Witch.

"This is all being 'broadcast' live."

She blinked.

"Broadcast? What do you mean?"

"It's being projected as a hologram in Babylon Square."

"......."

In the past, I couldn't set foot on the 21st floor as I lacked an alias. Yet, I knew exactly how this stage worked, what the quest was, every detail.

"It's like a TV program. People gathered in the square are watching everything we do live."

"Why would they do that...?"

"The librarian said it. We are no different from 'characters.'"

I quietly said.

"Of course, there are 'readers' watching these characters."

That's right.

Even in the past, I saw it in the square. I watched it. Although I couldn't participate in the assault... I watched how the titled hunters cleared from the 21st to the 30th floor.

'There must be a hologram in the square right now.'

Everything we do and say is broadcast live to hundreds of thousands of readers.

In the truest sense, we are on stage.

"Don't let your guard down thinking no one's watching. Black Dragon Master."

"If we say or do something strange here, it will stay in people's memories forever."

The guild leader immediately understood.

How terrifying that was.

"Indeed. This stage isn't just about clearing it or not."

I nodded.

"Yes. It's most important 'how' we clear it."

We had to avoid doing anything that people could later hold against us. To the people, no, to the readers, we had to truly seem like heroes in a book. We had to perform our assigned roles and make them our own.

"We are already in a work called [The Great Library]."

That's when it happened.

After the quest appeared, a notification that should have followed arrived.

It wasn't the Witch's or the librarian's voice, but the voice of the tower.

[Welcome, King of Death.]

I smiled inwardly.

[Receiving the 20th floor clear reward!]

The reward for yesterday's deeds, for saving the Aegim Empire and the continent.

It was time to receive it.

The tower is harsh on latecomers.

But it generously rewards those who lead.

[Normal stage reward.]

[Blessing, God of Beauty's favor descends upon you!]

[From the 21st to 30th floors, you can observe the favorability of characters.]

The rewards didn't end there.

There was still the reward for completing the hidden quest.

[Hidden stage reward.]

[Blessing, the Snake God's protection descends upon you!]

[From the 21st to 30th floors, you can observe the psychology of characters.]

'Great!'

They were the perfect privileges for me.

In this quest, how well you perform your role is key.

'These are exactly the privileges I need now!'

To play a role, it's not enough to be good alone. You must also understand the psychology of others, of other characters.

After all, acting is always teamwork, not solo play.

'Ability window.'

Before starting the quest in earnest, I checked my status.

Name: King of Death

Rank: D

Skills (5/6)

1. I Want to Become Just Like You (S+)

2. Returner’s Winding Clock (EX)

3. Sword Constellation (A+)

4. Goblin High Society (F)

5. Ghoul Reincarnation (SSS)

6. None.

*God of Beauty's blessing is in effect.

*God of Snakes's blessing is in effect.

'Okay.'

I glanced at the Witch. I realized I was still holding her wrist. I let go as naturally as possible and muttered a plausible command in my mind.

'Character window.'

Swoosh!

A hologram appeared before my eyes.

For the first time, I saw a status window I had never seen before.

Name: Black Witch

Favorability: 82

Preferred Genres: [Romance]

Disliked Genres: [History]

Preferred Characters: [Prince on a White Horse], [Young Man], [Wolf Man], [Dimwitted Man]

Disliked Characters: [Psychopath], [Soldier], [Politician], [Incompetent Female Lead]

Preferred Plots: [Repayment], [The Sacrifice of the Few for the Many]

Disliked Plots: [Forgetfulness], [Betrayal], [Misunderstanding by the Female Lead]

Mental State: ‘If our appearance is truly being broadcast in Babylon.... For the sake of the future, I must portray a noble character. Clearing the stage is secondary. Yes. I must act according to thoroughly political calculations. In that case, the wisest tactic would be....’

Uh.

As I was bewildered and lost for words, the witch's expression hardened. It seemed she was worried something had gone wrong with me.

“What's wrong? Is something the matter?”

“No, no, it's nothing.”

“…Well, that's good. But if you have any information I need to know, tell me right away. I'm thinking of a strategy.”

“Yes, yes.”

The witch turned her head and immersed herself in thought again.

With a very serious look.

While looking at her profile, I felt a certain emotion.

‘What is this?’

What was this inexplicable sense of guilt?

‘It feels like... I've secretly read someone else's diary….’

-Hahahaha!

The Guardian Spirit, sharing my consciousness, was already rolling on the floor laughing.

Kicking the air and bursting into laughter.

-The Prince on a White Horse! The Prince on a White Horse...! Ah! To think that someone that age, maintaining her youth with elixirs, is dreaming of a Prince on a White Horse at this age! Zombie, why don’t you find a majestic horse to ride on! You're a hero, right? Just put a crown on a hero and he becomes a prince! Wow, what a perfect match!

"......."

I stared blankly at the Guardian Spirit.

-Huh? What's with that look? You seem to be glaring at me.

I murmured softly in my mind.

‘...Character Window.’

-Eh? Wha-what? Hey, Kim Zombie! What are you doing!? Man! Hey!

The Guardian Spirit panicked and waved his hands.

But waving hands couldn't stop my command.

The Guardian Spirit's character window was blatantly displayed before my eyes.

Name: Sword Emperor

Favorability: 59

Preferred Genres: [Martial Arts]

Disliked Genres: [Everything but Martial Arts]

Preferred Characters: [Macho Man], [Rival], [Mother]

Disliked Characters: [Weakling], [Pushover]

Preferred Plots: [Victory], [Cathartic Payoff]

Disliked Plots: [Defeat], [Frustration]

Mental State: ‘Shit! Does this thing work on me too!?’

‘Pffft!’

I burst into laughter internally.

I barely managed to maintain my expressionless facade.

‘Oh, a mama's boy, Sword Emperor? I didn't see that coming…’

-I'll kill you!!

The Sword Emperor glared at me. More than glared, the spirit went berserk. He thrashed wildly, flailing all four limbs in a frenzy.

-I'll kill you! Turn it off now! Forget it! Erase it from your brain, damn it! If you don't erase it right now, I'll blow your head off! I'll really kill you! I'll break off all ties with you, man!?

I had known the Guardian Spirit for quite some time, but I had never seen the spirit this flustered. The worse someone's position, the louder that person becomes. Unlike the Sword Emperor, I was completely at ease.

‘Until the 30th floor, keep your head down around me. Otherwise, I'll bring up your character window whenever I get the chance.’

Eek...!

The Guardian Spirit huffed and puffed, snorting furiously. But no matter how impressive the snorting was, what good did it do? The Guardian Spirit could neither hit me nor block my ability.

-Just you wait! You'll get what's coming to you!

‘Haha.’

The threat didn’t scare me at all.

While I was testing my new privilege, the hunters were increasingly divided into two factions.

One side, led by the agitator, advocated for collectively attacking the [Boss Monster]. The other side, including me and the Witch, opted for a more cautious approach, observing the situation.

The aggressive faction had about 100 members.

The cautious faction had about 200 members.

“How foolish.”

The usually silent Sword Saint finally spoke.

The elderly swordsman looked disdainfully at the aggressive faction.

“Have you already forgotten what the Constellation just showed us? The destruction of worlds. If it wishes, the Constellation could throw us into such a world and easily escape. And yet, you choose to provoke it. Insanity.”

“If it's mass suicide you're after, I won't stop you.”

With just one sentence from the Sword Saint, half of the aggressive faction withdrew.

Now, only about 50 hunters remained in the aggressive faction.

“Hey! Don't chicken out!”

The instigator, likely a high-ranking hunter, yelled.

“King of Death cleared the 10th floor alone! The 20th floor was a solo play too! Boss Monsters are always like that, but the giant guilds want to monopolize the benefits. If you want to wag your tails at the Five Great Guilds forever, then get lost!”

It seemed like the instigator might be the head of a sturdy mid-sized guild, considering about 50 people were still swayed by their words.

‘But the decisive point was that I remembered neither that agitator's face nor alias. I had obsessed over every top ranker without exception, including the Flame Emperor, the Master Alchemist, the Witch, and the Sword Saint. If even I could not remember this person....’

“Hmm-.”

There’s always a reason for that.

“-Has the situation been sorted out?”

The Head Librarian looked down at the 50 hunters of the aggressive faction.

Like planets orbiting the sun, hundreds of books revolved around the Head Librarian.

“That's right, you bastard of a boss monster! Fifty of us are more than enough to beat down a little runt like you...!”

“Sorry, I'm not particularly fond of clichés.”

The Head Librarian picked up a book.

[The Epic of the Sealed World] was its title.

“Let's just get this over with.”

Whoosh!

The book opened and emitted a bright light. But this time, it wasn't just a flash. Dark arms, numerous tentacles flowed out and engulfed the aggressive hunters.

Screams echoed around.

“What… what is this!?”

“In this epic, humanity has been wiped out, leaving only a single magician alive.”

One. Two. Three.

The extremist hunters were seized by the monster's tentacles and dragged into the air.

“Well, after enduring one hardship after another, this magician became more like a tentacled monster than a person. The magician is a protagonist I cherish dearly, roughly my ninth-favorite character.”

“Aaahhhhh!”

The hunter grabbed by the tentacles was soon swallowed by the book.

“Save, save me!”

The hunters lucky enough to evade the tentacles began to flee, but it was useless. Ten times as many tentacles as before burst from the book. Some hunters were caught by the wrists, some by the waist, and others by the ankles.

“This magician specializes in sealing magic. You might call it a relationship between guest and host. In exchange for my occasionally handing over ‘materials,’ the magician willingly carries out my requests.”

In an instant, all 50 hunters were devoured by the book.

The Head Librarian grinned.

“Just like now.”

Thump.

Thump, thump. Clatter. Thump, thump.

The book that devoured the hunters began to spit something out.

Bingeing and purging.

We held our breath and watched the scene unfold before us. We could not see them from here, but the hundreds of thousands gathered in Babylon Square were probably holding their breath just as we were.

“Ah."

The book regurgitated giant bookmarks.

As tall as a person.

Bookmarks with arms and legs.

“The magician’s hobby is to dress up their creations in maid outfits.”

A maid's outfit was drawn in the center of each bookmark.

“The magician is a bit of a pervert, you see. But what can you do? All of humanity except that one person was destroyed. It would be stranger if the magician had remained sane.”

The hunters looked around in horror.

Just within sight, there were 50 bookmark maids.

Looking further around the library, there were hundreds, even thousands of bookmark maids, holding mops or dishes.

"......."

The hunters were silent.

Just considering what was visible, the scale was immense.

The Grand Library stretched beyond the horizon.

If the entire library was considered, how many bookmark maids were wandering around?

“Hmm. It's tidied up nicely! The unnecessary extras are cleared out.”

Thump!

The Head Librarian closed the book.

“Are you ready to be the protagonists now?”